1 direct ancestors

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1 DIRECT ANCESTORS

PRINCE HENRY

Born

Date

????

Married ????

Place to Helen ????

Buried 1748 Feb 24

Children

Mary

Youlgreave, Derbyshire

B/Bapt Place

1708 Stanton-in-Peak, DBY

Paul

Helen

Ann

1713

1717

1723

Stanton-in-Peak, DBY



Henry is the earliest ancestor in the PRINCE line that we have so far traced. At some time he married Helen although no record of their has been found. It did not take place in

Youlgreave and we searched for it in many parishes listed in Chapter 2.2. There are no

Prince entries in the Youlgreave parish register before that of Mary’s baptism in 1708. So

Henry was an incomer.

The descent from Henry through eight generations to the authors is shown in fig 1.

Although we have not found Henry’s baptism he must have been born at least some twenty years before the baptism of his daughter Mary in 1708. This would make him born no later than 1682. Mary may not have been his first child. There is a burial in Youlgreave (Stanton) on 31 st J uly 1724 of an infant child Sarah Prince. This might be another of Henry’s children.

In 1723 a child Ann Prince was baptised. In 1724 an infant child Sarah Prince was buried.

Whether these two are of the same child (Sarah Ann?) is speculative.

Hen ry’s wife Helen died in 1742. Although her age was not given she had to have been at least 60 years old. Henry died six years later in 1748 as it says in the burial register a

”widower & pauper of Stanton”.

Children of Henry & Helen

In 1717 they had a daughter Helen baptised. There is an entry in the Bishop’s Transcripts for

Youlgreave in 1741 of the baptism of an illegitimate child John to Helen Prince. Likely to be the same Helen although nothing more has been found about her.

Their daughter Mary married Moses Bark on 10th November 1730 in Youlgreave church.

Their son Paul married Elizabeth Ashbourne in 1737. Being in the direct family line they are discussed below.

PRINCE PAUL (713)

Date Place

Baptised 1713 Apr 17 Stanton-in-Peak, DBY

Married 1737 Apr 12 Stanton-in-Peak, DBY.

to Elizabeth Ashbourne

Buried 1784 Sep

Children

Peter


B/Bapt. Place


John

Paul

Henry

Elizabeth

1739

1742

1745

1747





Ann

Sarah

Joseph

Elin

Rachel






© Gordon and Barbara Faulkner

2

Paul Prince married on 12th April 1737. He was "of Stanton" but his wife Elizabeth

Ashbourne was not so identified. Probably she was a local girl from Youlgreave.

Nothing more about Paul has been found other than that gleaned from the Parish Register and recorded above. He was seemingly occupied in the evenings!

Paul died in September 1784. His age as given in the register was 73 years. His wife

Elizabeth (of Stanton) was buried on 1 st April 1797 aged 80y.

Children of Paul & Elizabeth

Peter married Ann Watson of Stanton on 27 th September 1764. They had three children

Fanny in 1765, Martha in 1767 and John in 1768, baptised 20 th March. Peter died and was buried on February 16th 1769 thirteen years before his father. His wife Ann died in 1774. Thus they left three orphan children: daughters Fanny aged 9yr, Martha aged 7years and baby John aged just six years.

In Youlgreave graveyard there is a Monumental Inscription:

Peter Prince from Stanton died 1769 February 14th aged 30y. (Remainder illegible)

This appears to be the earliest MI of Prince in Youlgreave churchyard. His daughter,

Martha married Thomas Bonsall in 1789.

John second son born 1739 is in our direct ancestral line.

Paul third son married Ann Twyford of Stanton on 14 th July 1767. Both signed the register so Paul was literate. They had at least three children. Nancy in 1770; Ann in 1772 and Elizabeth 1774 all “of Stanton”. There was a marriage of Paul Prince to Mary

Gladwin at Youlgreave on 4 th November 1783. It seems likely that this is a second marriage for Paul although we have not found a burial of his first wife Ann. Paul

Prince was buried 29 th August 1795 and Mary Prince 16 th December 1796.

Ann married Thomas Drabble in August 1769, (Stanton)

Sarah had an illegitimate daughter Fanny in 1770. The child died aged 15 years in 1786.

She married David Wall in 1782.

Henry; Elizabeth; Joseph; Helen; Rachel.

Nothing discovered about these children.

PRINCE JOHN (739)

Date Place

Baptised 1739 Dec 26 Youlgreave, DBY

Married 1768 Jun 1 Stanton-in-Peak, DBY

Buried 1821 Mar 11

to Elizabeth Siddall


Children

James

B/Bapt

1768

Place


Elizabeth

John

Mary

Peter

George

Joseph

Ann

Paul

Sally (sic)

1770

1772

1774

1777

1779

1782

1787

1789




Stanton-in-Peak, DBY per will





John married Elizabeth Siddall in Youlgreave church on 1 st June 1768. He signed the register so was literate. Just four months later their son James Prince was baptised in the same church. Like his father John was prolific, fathering at least ten children baptised in the

Parish church.


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John died on 7th March 1821. He left a will (Ch 2.6) from which much information can be gathered. The will was drawn up on 7 th March 1821 although he did not sign it. Clearly he was unable to sign and so it was witnessed by three people. In a post script to the will it is recorded that he died the same day. He was buried aged 81y on the 11 th March, four days later.

He mentions seven children in his will. Those that predeceased him were Paul, died 1804 aged 17 years; Joseph died 1806 aged 27 years and Elizabeth.

For the grandson of a pauper John did remarkably well. His will refers to his “House, brewhouses and other buildings with garden and to his parcel of land called Whikes”. It would have been interesting to have identified these locations but no tithe map of Youlgreave exists. Actually none was ever drawn up; for some reason at the time it was deemed unnecessary.

Children of John & Elizabeth.

James bp 1768. married Joyce Fenton on 31 st October 1797. They had children

Paul baptised 1795 Aug 29 th There may be a transcription error here. James married 1797 yet his first child Paul was baptised 1795. This problem has not been resolved.

William 1798; Elizabeth 1799; Sarah 1804; Hannah 1810.

In the Poll books for 1832 (Ch 3.3) James was mentioned as a Freeholder. He was recorded as paying the Poor Rate of £1 p.a. in 1812, 1813 & 1814. He was buried 9 th

April 1834, aged 65y and his wife Joyce on 2 nd October 1834. According to the parish register in 1834 “the unusual number of burials was owing to malignant typhoid in Stanton & Stanton Lees”. o that is probably what they died of.

Elizabeth Baptised 1770

John born 1772 is in our direct ancestral line.

Mary Baptised 1774. Married John Prince 2 nd May 1797. They had at least four children;

Mary bp 1808; Paul born 1812 according to the MI (Ch 2.4); Rachel bp 1814 & Henry bp 1817. In 1841 census John aged (70y) was a lead miner, living with his wife Mary and daughter Rachel in Stanton. In 1851 Mary, by now a widow aged 77y was living with her daughter Rachel and son-in-law Henry Fryer in Stanton. Her husband John was buried in Stanton on 2 nd April 1850 aged 84y and she was buried in Youlgreave churchyard on 2 nd October 1859 aged 86y.

Her husband John according the MI was born in 1766. This accords well with the birth of the John Prince baptised in 1768, son of Peter & Ann. He was orphaned when he was just six years old. If so they were cousins.

Peter baptised 1777. By the 1841 census was a shoemaker married to Alice. They had two children Peter bp 1817 and Sarah bp 1823 living with them. He was buried 1849 aged 72y. His widow Alice was still alive in the 1861 census living in Stanton with her son Joseph. Joseph had been born in Cowley Derbyshire in 1807. Clearly

Peter (777) had moved about a bit.

Joseph died 1806.

George no baptism found but referred to in his father’s will. Not found elsewhere.

Ann bp 1782. Married John Twyford 1803

Paul bp 1787. Died 1804 aged 17y

Sarah bp 1789. Married Ralph Twyford according to her father’s will.


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PRINCE JOHN (772)

Date Place

Baptised 1772 Jun 26 Youlgreave, DBY

Married 1796 Nov 1

Died

Buried

1847 May 27

1847 May 30

Youlgreave DBY

to Jane Sheldon

Stanton DBY

Stanton DBY

Children

Abraham

Paul

B/Bapt

1800

1806

Place

Youlgreave, DBY

Youlgreave, DBY

Mary

James

1808

1815

Youlgreave, DBY

Youlgreave, DBY

John was the third child of his parents John & Elizabeth. Nothing is known about his early life until he married Jane Sheldon in 1796 in the parish church at Youlgreave. He signed the register so was literate.

Their first known child was Abraham, a name not prolific in the area and one that does not recur in the Prince family. However Jane had a younger brother called Abraham, doubtless this was the source. He was baptised on 2 nd November 1800. Sadly the little fellow died in

1804 aged 3 years. They had three more children, Paul, Mary & James. All were baptised in the parish church at Youlgreave but recorded there as “of Stanton”.

John appears in the Register of Electors for 1832 with his brother James, each having a freehold property in Stanton (Ch 3.3). In 1836-7, John was occupying a freehold house & land as a tenant from William Prince, who lived in Manchester. This William is probably the son baptised in 1798 of John’s brother James(768). James had died in 1834 and doubtless bequeathed this property to his son. From 18381843 John had “freehold house and land in his own occupation”.

John’s father, also John(739) owned property as shown by his will (Ch 2.6) John(772) himself owned & occupied property certainly until 1843, as shown by his presence on the electoral register. However in the 1841 census aged 69 years he was only a “labourer”. In fact he had moved from Stanton itself and was living with his wife Jane in Church Street

Youlgreave. In the same house were his eldest son Paul, a stone cutter, his wife Sarah & their three small children; John, Eliza & Ann.

At some time John & Jane returned to Stanton, the township in which they both died; John on

27 th May 1847 and the address on the death certificate was “Stanton”. His wife Jane was the informant. The cause of death was “old age”; he was actually 75 years old despite the burial register saying 77 years. He was buried in Youlgreave churchyard. Jane died in August

1850 aged 76 years.

No Will has been found. However his father, John (739) left two properties and his son,

James (815) left two. Perhaps John (772) possessed them as well. It could be that his description as “labourer” in the 1841 census did not have quite the “poor” connotation that we now give it.

Children of John & Jane.

Paul bp 1806. Married Sarah somewhere at some time. In 1841 census was living in

Church St Youlgreave with his wife and three children. By the 1851 census Paul had moved back into Stanton living in Middle Street with his wife Sarah and now five children. His occupation was “stone cutter & dresser”. Staying in the same house with him was a "visitor" Moses Sheldon a widower aged 61y who was his uncle, brother of his mother Jane. By the 1861 census Paul was dead for Sarah was a widow living in Stanton with her four youngest children. The two oldest had presumably left home. His tombstone survives in Youlgreave churchyard. It records

Paul Prince aged 47y of Stanton died 1854.

Mary bp 1808.

James bp 1815. Is our direct ancestor.


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PRINCE JAMES (815)

Baptised 1815 Mar 26 Youlgreave DBY

Married 1838 May 21 Youlgreave DBY to Hannah Gould

Died 1865 July 11

Children

Frederick

Stanton

B/Bapt Place


James

Peter

John

Herbert

James

Albert

Arthur

Isaac

1841

1845

1847

1848

1850

1852

1854

1857









Emily

Edwin


???? died in infancy

James was the youngest son of John & Jane, baptised March 26th 1815 at Youlgreave parish church. He was three months old when Wellington saw off Napoleon at Waterloo and changed the course of European history.

We know nothing about James until his marriage on the 21 st May 1838 in the parish church of

Youlgreave. (Fig 2) It was “by licence” rather than “by banns”, often an indication of the need for speed. His bride was Hannah Gould.

James was able to sign his name on the mar riage certificate, his bride only “marked”. James occupation was “labourer” and Hannah was a “lace maker”. One of the witnesses to the marriage was Daniel Holmes. He had witnessed also the will of James’ grandfather

John(739) in 1821. Clearly a family friend.

Their son Frederick was born on 13 th June 1838 just three weeks after the marriage. (fig 3)

Hence the need for a licence but why delay so long? Somewhere there must be a story to be told in the Mills & Boon tradition. Whatever, in the end Frederick was legitimate, just.

Frederick was baptised on 17 th June 1838, just four days after his birth. One wonders why they chose the name Frederic. Maybe they were royalists and named him after the deceased son of George III. Or maybe not. Jam es’ occupation was now “miner”. Lead rather than coal in that area. Hannah’s father John was also a lead miner. From 1838 onwards James & Hannah produced children at regular intervals, ten by 1860 and the eleventh Edwin after 1861. That little lad died in infancy.

At the time of the 1841 census James was living in Stanton with his wife Hannah and his second child James, then aged 2 months. His occupation was "Stonecutter". So over a period of three years James was a "labourer", then a miner, then a stone cutter. Looks as though jobs may have been scarce and that he was turning to any occupation that was available at the time. From this time on he would appear to have stayed with the quarrying industry.

In 1841 for some reason, possibly simply convenience, his eldest child Fred(838), then aged

2 years was living nearby with his maternal grandparents John & Margaret Gould. The census enumerator clearly made a mistake here, giving Fred the surname Gould.

Although not apparent from our transcription of the 1841 census the Prince & Gould houses were next door to each other. In fact the Gould house is still there in Stanton. It was on the market for sale in 1991 and the house agents detailed description made at the time has been deposited in the local studies library in Matlock. It was then, and presumably still is a Grade II listed semi-detached property featuring fine stone work, leaded, stone mullioned windows and a date stone over the door of 1664. (fig 4) By 1991 it had been modernised but it would appear, not extended. An impressive 3-bedroomed property today. No doubt Hannah


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Prince was only too delighted to be able to use her parents’ spare room to accommodate young Fred.

By the 1851 census James & Hannah had six children although one, James(841), had died.

Fred and Herbert were living at "Middle Street" with their widower grandfather John Gould whilst the remaining three children stayed with mum & dad at "Stanton Lees". James(815) was still a "Stonecutter".

Times may have improved by the 1861 census for then James & Hannah had eight of their children living with them still in Stanton. Only one, James(850) was living out with his uncle

James Gould and aunt Ann Gould. Grandad Gould had died in 1859, aged 79y.

James(815) was still a "Stonecutter".

James only survived four years after filling in his census return for he died on 11 th July 1865, aged 50 years. The cause of death given on the certificate was “diseased lungs, twelve months. phthisis”. In modern parlance tuberculosis. Today we might expect him to be suffering from silicosis, but the medical fraternity then would not have known the term. The informant was John Prince of Stanton, probably his son. At his death his occupation was

“Quarryman (master)”. Through his life he had progressed from labourer to being a skilled craftsman. Certainly he had done not too badly.

James left a Will dated 29th November 1864 (Ch 2.6) Briefly he left all his property to his

"dear wife Hannah" for her life. On her death the property was to be distributed amongst his children with elder sons Frederick (838) and Peter being chief beneficiaries. They were each to receive a "dwelling house etc" which indicated that James might not have been quite as poor as first t hought. However the estate was valued at "under £100" so the houses can hardly have been of great value! The children had a long wait for their inheritance as mum

Hannah did not die for another thirty years, in 1894.

After James’ death his widow Hannah appeared in the 1871 census living with five of her unmarried children, still in Stanton. Sons James & Albert had followed their father’s occupation as “stonecutters”. In the 1881 census she was still Head of Household and two unmarried children living with her. They were Isaac, a stonecutter and Emily, now 21 years of age with no occupation listed.

By the 1891 census Hannah was living on her own, still in Stanton “living on her own means”.

She died on 17 th November 1894, at the age of 76 years. The cause of her death was

“senile decay”.

Children of James & Hannah.

James b 1841. Buried 20 th March 1848.

Frederick Is our direct ancestor.

Peter born 1845. Living with his parents in 1851. Ten years later in 1861 aged 17 years was a stonecutter and still living with his parents.

Here we have an intriguing problem. A tombstone in Stanton churchyard reads:

1860 July 24th Sarah wife of Peter Prince aged 20 and Sarah their daughter an infant.

It seem incredible that this Peter is Peter(845) If so he was not an unmarried person in 1861, he was a widower, aged 17years. One can only wonder at what his parents, relations and the rest of the village thought about this. Or, more likely, the Peter on the tombstone is not Peter(845)

Ten years later in the 1871 census Peter now 27y had advanced to being a Stone

Merchant. He also had married Alice Oxley, probably not long before the census because their first child Maud was born in 1872. Their second child Alfred was aged

7 years in the 1881 census so was born in 1874. Peter died in 1904, aged 61y

Alice his wife died in 1923 aged 82y according to a Monumental Inscription in

Stanton.


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Paragraph removed – it was incorrect

John born 1847. Aged 15 in 1861, was a "stonecutter" now a family tradition. By 1871, aged 25y he had married a Mary Jane and they had three very small children. The baby was called Frederick. John had changed trades to "Carpenterwheelwright”.

After that we have no information.

Herbert born 1848. In 1861 aged 13y was living with his parents and occupation "general labourer". By 1871 he had married a Mary Annie, a dressmaker, surname unknown.

He was a grocer. They had a child of 7 months and a female servant aged 12y.

Mary Ann died in 1912 aged 68 years and Herbert died in 1921 aged 73y.

James born 1850. In 1861 living with Uncle James Gould and Aunt Ann Gould. In 1871 living with his mother. He was a stonecutter. Young brother Albert also a stone cutter and younger Arthur a "groom" In 1881

Albert born 1852. A scholar in 1861. In 1871 with his widowed mother, with occupation a stonecutter. Married Jane Taylor by 1875 and they had five children; Arthur, Albert,

Frederick, Annie (1884-9) Florence Emily (1881- 90). Jane herself died in 1886 aged

36y. Married for a second time Elizabeth and had six children by her. They were

Edith, Ernie, Maggie, Florence, Leonard & Beatrice. Leonard married and we talked with his widow (E.A) in 1975. They had been licensees of the "Flying Childers" from

1938 until the death of Leonard. After his death in 1955 his widow took over for two more years.

Albert's second wife Elizabeth died in 1893. He married for a third time to Mary Jane

White. They had no children. Albert died in 1923 aged 71 years. His widow Mary

Jane outlived him and died in 1926 aged 65 years.

Isaac born 1857. Present in the 1861 census aged 4y. In 1871 still a scholar living with his widowed mother. In 1881 was a stonecutter still with his mother. Married

Hannah Twyford before 1887 as there is a memorial in the churchyard to a Wilfrid

Keeling Prince, son of Isaac & Hannah aged 16 months. Had a large family the fourth child being Wilburn who died in 1918 aged 24y. The youngest child Ann (born

1904) married Sam Fowkes at some time and was still alive in 1975. Would that we had not missed the opportunity to talk to her, but we did. She died in 1984. Isaac died in 1938 aged 82y and Hannah his wife died in 1941 aged 80 years. Their tombstone exists in Stanton churchyard. (Ch 2.4)

Emily born 1860. Present in the 1861, 1871 & 1881 Not found in the 1891 census; probably married.


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PRINCE FREDERICK (838)

Born 1838 June 13` Stanton-in-Peak DBY

Baptised 1838 June 17 Stanton-in-Peak (Youlgreave) DBY

Married 1864 Jan 25 Islington Parish church, Middlesex

to Eleanor Herriot

Died

Buried

1902 Sep 9

1902 Sep 13

Hampstead. London

Highgate Cemetery, London

Children

James

Bertha E

Born

1864

1867

Place

Islington

Islington

Florence M 1869

Emily Gould 1872

Caroline Ann 1874

St Pancras

St Pancras

St Pancras

Frederick Prince was born on 13 th June 1838 at Stanton-in-Peak in the Derbyshire Peak

District. He was the oldest child in a family of eleven. His name Christian name “Frederick” is one not normally used in full, certainly not within family circles. It is one commonly abbreviated to “Fred” and so to save this account of his life from seeming too formal “Fred” is how he will be referred to in this account.

In 1841 at the age of two, he was living with his grandparents John and Margaret Gould, who lived close by, possibly even next door. Quite why this was so is not clear. It does however seem to have been a more than temporary arrangement for in 1851 he was still living with his grandfather in Middle Street, Stanton, whilst his parents lived in Stanton Lees. John Gould was a lead miner, not traditionally one of the better paid occupations but it may be that his house was relatively large and he was able to help with space for his daughter’s children.

The house is still there, “Gould’s Cottage” (fig 4) as previously described.

Grandfather Gould was widowed in 1847 but in 1851 his daughter Ann had taken her mother’s place running the house and Fred was still living there, now with his young brother

Herbert.

Life in Stanton had centred around agriculture, mining and quarrying for years. Fred doubtless saw his future mapped out before him as soon as he was old enough to think about it. But times were changing. In 1835 George & Robert Stephenson had built the Liverpool &

Manchester Railway & opened the floodgates to a new technology. Very soon after that momentous event the 19C equivalent of the “dot.com” boom hit the country and plans were submitted for railway lines joining all sorts of places, likely and unlikely.

Among the earliest lines was the North Midland which opened its line from Derby to

Masborough (Rotherham) in 1840. It built one of its stations at Ambergate 1 . Then in May

1845 a prospectus was published for a line “to complete the communication by railway between Lancashire & the East Districts”. The company involved was the Manchester

Buxton Matlock & Midland Junction Railway (MBM&MJR) and it was their intention to provide a route from the East Midlands coalfields to the industrial towns of Lancashire. The route, surveyed by no less a personage than George Stephenson was to link Manchester via the

Derwent valley to the existing railway line at Ambergate.

Unfortunately for the MBM&MJR they were not the only company wishing to build a railway in the area. There were at least two more involved and prominent landowners in the area, the

Duke of Devonshire at Chatsworth and the Duke of Rutland at Haddon Hall also took a keen interest. Life got complicated. The eventual outcome was that the MBM&MJR opened a line from Ambergate to Rowsley in 1849. It was however in some financial difficulty and in

1852 was leased jointly to the Midland Railway (MR) and the London & North Western

Railway (LNWR). The MR continued to work the line as it had done from the opening of the line in 1849.

1

Rowsley, by Glynn Waite & Laurence Knighton


9

Fred was still at school in 1851. He was 12 years old. It cannot have been long afterwards that he left to earn his living. It surely would have been the traditional unexciting grind of labouring either on a farm or in a quarry or down a lead mine. Would that we had some information as to what Fred was doing between 1851 & 1861 but we do not.

However at some time he must have cast his eyes down the hillside towards the new railway at Rowsley and seen it as a glorious opportunity to get away from it all. After all, Rowsley was only one and a half miles away from Stanton; to the Victorians a mere stroll round the corner. What is more the railway is likely to have had a little difficulty in recruiting staff locally in Rowsley. It was a very small village (population only 210 in 1871) and almost all those who lived and worked there did do for either the Duke of Devonshire or the Duke of Rutland.

They would be unlikely to leave such secure positions; seeing themselves as having a job for life as long as they didn’t “rock the boat”.

Whatever the reason Fred took his chance. One can imagine the sequence of events.

Down to see the foreman, taken on as a lad and given whatever tasks were about. He would very rapidly have discovered the requirements to reach the better-paid jobs. In 1861

Frederick, now 22 years of age, was employed as an Engine Cleaner, whilst still living, at least for the census night, at Stanton-in-Peak with his parents.

Although Rowsley was a terminus station in 1861 there would have been no more than two

engines based there and perhaps only one 1 . Passenger trains to and from Ambergate were

certainly worked from there but the indications are that goods working was based at Derby although there may have been need for a shunting engine at Rowsley. In those days men worked long hours and so one driver and one fireman would probably have worked the passenger trains on a shift of thirteen hours. Someone would have been employed to prepare the engine for start of work and to dispose of the fire afterwards. All in all there were not many employees at Rowsley which perhaps indicates that Fred was lucky to get a job there or that he showed ability above the average.

The original intention was for the line to continue from Rowsley towards Chatsworth.

However the extension to Chatsworth never materialised and the station was opened as

"Rowsley for Chatsworth". In keeping with this grand title the passenger station building was designed by no less a person than Joseph Paxton, agent to the Chatsworth estate and later responsible for the construction of the Crystal Palace for the 1851 Great Exhibition.

The Midland Railway wished to connect Derby with Manchester and to this end opened a line from Rowsley to Hassop in 1862 and extended it via Millers Dale to Buxton in 1863. This line diverted from the original route just south of Rowsley Station and a new passenger station was required. Paxton's imposing building was sidelined and converted to a goods shed. In the post-Beeching era it found itself in the centre of a road distribution depot (what ignominy, see fig 5!) but it survived and in very recent times it has been conver ted to a the “Peak

Village” retail centre. Fred would certainly recognise the external appearance but he would be amazed at what they were selling inside.

The engine shed at Rowsley started to lose its importance with these extensions. When the line was extended to Buxton on 1st June 1863, Rowsley lost all involvement in passenger services, and there is reason to believe that the shed was closed down for a short while.

Certainly the driver transferred to Buxton. This change at Rowsley is almost certainly the reason for Fred transferring to London; it would be a case of go where the work is or be sacked.

For whatever reason Fred was in London on the 25 th January 1864. On that day he married

Eleanor Herriot in the parish church of Islington, St Mary's. He was progressing up the railway ladder, his occupation on his marriage certificate was “Fireman”.

His wife Eleanor, born in 1840 and christened “Ellen”, came from Nottinghamshire so it is likely that they met when they were both living in London. Both gave their "Residence at the

Time of Marriage" as 37 William Street, Islington. This apparent "living together" at the time of marriage was not uncommon. It was used as a device to reduce expenditure; both parties


10 living in one parish so only one set of Banns to be read and paid for. Being 21 years old at that time she was doubtless "in service" and the likelihood is that she was in London, not too far from William Street. We have not found her in 1861 either in Nottinghamshire or London.

The couple’s first child James was born on the 28 th April 1864 at 37 William Street .

This again was a “hasty” marriage although not quite as urgent a necessity as his father’s was!

Fred’s employer, the Midland Railway had from its inception had been striving to gain access to the capital. At first it had made an agreement with the London & North Western to use

Euston Station. However in 1858 it agreed running powers with the Great Northern Railway

(GNR) to use their line from Hitchen into King’s Cross.

King’s Cross Station 2 had been built for the GNR in 1851-2. It was built on the site of the

London Smallpox Hospital in a district formerly known as Battle Bridge. The district was called King’s Cross to commemorate a universally disliked monument to King George IV which stood at cross-roads near the site from 1830 till 1845 when it was demolished. When opened King’s Cross was the biggest station in England.

The reason Fred lived where he did in Islington is now clear although William Street itself has now disappeared. It was an extension of what is now and was in 1864, Pembroke Street going south across Bingfield Street. It was just a quarter of a mile from the new locomotive sheds built in 1859 for the Midland Railway by the GNR. Fred was closer to work there than he had been in Stanton.

The line into King’s Cross was however heavily congested and naturally the GNR gave preference to its own trains. The MR was losing out so by the early 1860’s they began to do something about it by building their own line south from Bedford towards their own new

London terminus, St Pancras.

In 1863 they bought the site in the centre of the slums of Agar Town. Over the period 1863-7 the train shed was built. (fig 6) The platforms had to be raised 20 feet above the level of

Euston Road because of the proximity of the Regent’s Canal, which the trains had to cross.

The cellars beneath were designed for the brewers of Burton-on-Trent to use for storage.

The adjacent Midland Grand Hotel of memorable design was built between 1868 & 1872.

In 1867 the MR opened its own line to St Pancras Goods depot along with its own loco sheds at Kentish Town although use of the King’s Cross sheds was retained until the opening of St

Pancras Station in 1868. These new sh eds were some 1½ miles away from the ones at

King’s Cross and would have been one of the reasons, if not the main one for Fred to move house. Between 1867, the birth of his daughter Bertha & 1869 the birth of hos next daughter

Florence he moved from William Street, Islington to 7 Arthur Grove, St Pancras.

The properties in Arthur Grove are rather sought after these days and indeed in 1871 were occupied by the better-off artisan class. There Fred was in the census of 1871 recorded as an "Engine Driver". This shows that in the ten years he had progressed through the railway ranks from “cleaner” through “fireman” to “driver”. Probably not yet a “top link” but still very satisfactory progress.

By then he had three children; James, Bertha & Florence. The entry gives his birthplace as

"Bakewell, Derbyshire" which is not exactly correct, an example of the inaccuracies that creep into these returns. . In the same house there were two unmarried locomotive men as

Boarders. One was an engine driver and the other a fireman. Most likely they talked a great deal of “shop” at mealtimes.

In 1873 Fred was included in the Register of Electors for St Pancras Ward, living at 7 Arthur

Grove.

2

The London Encyclopedia p 435


11

The local directories reveal an interesting and potentially confusing change of address.

In 1874 Frederick Prince 34 Arthur Grove, Hampstead

In 1884/5 Frederick Prince 34 Elaine Grove, Hampstead

These two addresses were of one and the same house, re-naming having taken place at some time. In 1881 it was Elaine Grove as indeed it still is today (fig 9).

In the 1881 census he was listed as a "Rly Engine Driver". At that time the policy of the MR was for drivers to have & be responsible for their own locomotives. It is a great sadness that there was in the family a pho tograph of the locomotive driven by Fred, “his” engine so to speak. It has been lost, despite the sensible precaution of having the old print copied in the late 1940’s. The author remembers clearly that it was a 2-4-0 tender loco and being brought up in Great Western territory, being surprised that such a small loco would have rated as an

“express”. Nevertheless, drawing on one’s hazy memory of 50 years ago, and vaguely remembering the exposed springs on the driving wheels it was probably a Kirtley similar to the one in fig 7.

His two youngest children had been born but he still shared the house with a married couple, a "Rly Engine Fitter" and his wife, presumably "in rooms". The entry was very revealing for it gave the place of birth of his wife Eleanor as Eastfield-side, Notts.

Sometime before 1888 Fred had moved to 36 Roderick Road in St Pancras for this was the address of his son James when he got married on 8 th February 1888 to Harriet Mary

Bradbury. James was an “Insurance Collector”.

The 1891 census confirms this. Fred was living at that address. Son James had departed but his four daughters were all at home. Bertha and Florence were employed by Clark’s

Pyramid works manufacturing candles. Emily then 19 years old and Caroline aged 16 years had no occupation. There was also a lodger, a railway fireman and two other families living in the same house. Eleven occupants in all.

Fred moved again after 1891. At the time of the marriage of his daughter Caroline in 1897 he was living in a large house No. 4 Savernake Road, Hampstead, N.London. (fig 10) This was not far from Roderick Road which was in turn close by Elaine Grove as can be seen on the map reproduced as fig 8.

In 1901 Caroline having left, Fred & Eleanor were living at 4 Savernake Road with their three daughters. Bertha and Florence were “wick cutters” and Emily, aged 29 years of age & not one of the brightest stars in the firmament, was described as “mother’s help at home”.

Life at home for the children of Fred & Eleanor was very restrictive 3 It appears that Eleanor was a very dominant person and a tartar of the worst type. She would do little about the house. Her oldest child James from a very early age would look after his four younger sisters. He would even change their nappies as Eleanor apparently refused to do this.

Perhaps this forced introduction to household chores was the reason that James became a very good cook. This accomplishment was referred to by several of his descendants, including Wm J Faulkner and Eleanor French (nephew & niece). They all said James invariably cooked the breakfast.

The Prince children were all kept on a very tight rein. So much so that when James married

Harriet Bradbury on 8 th February 1888 he was forced to do so secretly. After the ceremony both parties returned to their separate homes to live for a while before informing their families.

Imagine the reaction when all was revealed.

Oddly enough this same story was told about Caroline’s marriage 4 to Thomas Faulkner. It is recounted under the section on Caroline(874)

3

Private communication, Dorothy Broadhurst

4

Ella & Caroline, daughters of Caroline(874)


12

There are another two family tales worth mentioning. One 3 was that Fred Prince was

deprived of a substantial part of his rightful inheritance, to wit a quarry that was in the possession of the Prince family in Stanton that Fred should have received but didn’t. Looking at the will of Fred’s father James, who died in 1865 it is possible to see how such a legend might have originated. James left all his property to his wife Hannah for her life. Then after her death Fred was to have received a “House, cowhouse & garden”. No mention of a quarry. However the fact that Hannah survived her husband for thirty years renders it possible that the property she was left “for life” changed significantly and that the legacies to be received by Fred’s siblings “chargeable on the two dwelling houses” took up a large portion of the total estate. So the amount eventually due to Fred might have been much less that expected. The suggestion that he should have received part of a quarry probably stems from the fact that James was a quarry master. There was no mention of a quarry in the will.

Another family legend that smacks of “chip on the shoulder” was that Fred Prince’s wife

Eleanor (née Ellen Herriot) was deprived of a lot of money due her by virtue of being descended from the Morley family of Nottinghamshire, famous as manufacturers of knitwear.

According to Ella French Caroline’s mother or grandmother was induced to accept £100 as her share of a legacy and signed that she was “satisfied”. Without delving too deeply into the

Herriot branch of the family the tree below may be helpful. It can be seen that one has to go back three generations from Eleanor to find a Morley ancestor. Despite some intensive research we have found no connection to the wealthy Morleys. Hopefully we will in time get round to writing up this branch of the family.

Samuel HERRIOT b 1791 S

| m 1813 S >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> d 1875 S

________________________________________|____________________

|

John b 1814 S

|

| |

Robt Hill Hannah b 1816 S b 1818 S

|

George b 1821 S

|

2 more

|

Ruth

| b 1835 S b 1837 S

Hannah

Thomas Morley

MORLEY m 1839 D >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Mary Ann HAWKINS d ????

|________________________________________

| |

Ellen William b 1840 A b 1843 A

| m 1864 I >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> James PRINCE

S = Skegby A = Sutton-in-Ashfield D = Alfreton, Derbyshire I = London, Islington

Unfortunately Fred did not enjoy his large unshared house for very long. He died on 9 th

September 1902 aged 64. The cause of death was “diabetes - 9 months; gangrene of lungs

- 1 month; coma - 1 day”. It does not sound a pleasant experience! He was buried in

Highgate Cemetery on 13 th September. The grave, (plot no. 34823 square no. 115) was purchased by Eleanor on 13 th September 1902 for £6 12s 0d. A tombstone still exists (fig 14)

He left a will. A transcript is included here (Ch 2.6). Surprisingly it states that it was signed and witnessed on 9 th September 1902, the very date of Fred’s death. How this can be squared with the cause of death, coma 1 day is something of a mystery. He left £456/7/6d

The will was brief, appointing his wife Eleanor as Executrix and leaving everything to her, directing that "immediately after my death my wife shall make a fresh will leaving everything to their children". Probate was granted on 1 st April 1903 to Eleanor Prince, his widow.

The Will was witnessed by:-

Joseph Morley, 13 Sherlock Road, Gospel Oak, Engine Driver (a possible relative?)

Samuel Aston, 10 Herbert St, Malden Road, Engine Driver.

Fred no doubt would have been sad to know that despite his specific desire his widow made no will at all and died intestate on 27th March 1906, still resident at 4 Savernake Road. The cause of her death was “cerebral haemorrhage” i.e. a stroke. She was 65 years old. The


13 net value of her personal estate was £279/19/4 and powers of administration were granted to her son James Prince.

She was buried in the same grave as her husband. The account for her funeral on 31 st

March 1906 survives and is copied here as fig 15. It was an imposing procession with an oak coffin carried in glass car plus two mourning carriages each drawn by a pair of horses.

Total cost was £15/18/-.

Her three daughters Bertha, Florence and Emily continued to live at 4 Savernake Road.

Children of Frederick & Eleanor

James b 1864 in Islington. Married Harriet Mary Bradbury 1888. (fig 11) He was an insurance collector. James was apparently a great worrier and teetered on the edge of nervous breakdowns at various times. They had a daughter who died young and one son

Frederick James born 1893 who died in 1932 aged 39 years. Frederick James’ daughter

Dorothy (later Broadhurst) provided us with valuable information about the Prince family for which we are grateful

Bertha b 1867. Never married. Worked as a wick cutter at Clark’s Pyramid Works, a candle making factory. Died on 17 th October 1933 and interred in the family grave (fig 14) Left no will and there were no letters of administration. Presumably therefore the property at 4

Savernake Road did not belong to her & Emily; they were only tenants.

Florence b 1869. Never married and never it seems in good health. Worked at the same job in the same factory as her sister Bertha. Was described at one time as “an invalid having

TB of the bone”. Died on 4 th September 1924 and interred in the family grave. She left a will in which she bequeathed all her estate to her sisters Bertha & Emily. Gross value of her estate was £213/17/- with no net value quoted. Bertha was granted power of administration.

Bertha and Emily continued to live at 4 Savernake Road.

Emily b 1872, according to the census returns. Never found her birth certificate. Never it seemed earned her own living but stayed at home to mind the house. Was very aware of the value of money to the point where she would even charge visitors to the house for a cup of tea! After her sister Bertha’s death moved to live with her sister Caroline in Teignmouth and then on with her to Newton Abbot. We have not found her death certificate.

Caroline b 1874. is described below.

The four Prince sisters are shown in fig 12.

PRINCE CAROLINE (874)

Date Place

Born 1874

Married 1897 Feb 28 St Dominic’s Priory Church, Pancras, London

Buried 1943 May 26

Children

to Thomas Edward Faulkner

Newton Abbot Devon

B/Bapt. Place

Thomas Frederick William

William James

Edward Prince

Bernard George

1898 Tewkesbury

1901 Mar 25 Worcester

1902 Dec Worcester

1907 May 15 Bristol

Eleanor Esther (Ella)

Florence Caroline (Carrie)

1912 Nov 9 Bristol

1914 Dec 10 Bristol

Caroline was the fifth and youngest child of Frederick Prince & his wife Eleanor. She was born at 34 Arthur Grove, Hampstead. During her early years she moved around with her parents to various addresses in North London. As already mentioned under the story of her father Frederick Prince Ca roline’s mother Eleanor (née Herriot) was a most difficult person to live with. She kept the children under a very tight rein and would do little about the house.

Her oldest son James looked after his younger sisters. This domination had an effect on


14

James, as described above and also on young Caroline when she wished to marry Thomas

Edward Faulkner.

Caroline’s marriage caused ripples in the family for Caroline was from Methodist stock and the Faulkners were strongly Roman Catholic. According to Ca roline’s daughters the opposition was so great that the couple eloped and came back to present the family with a fait accompli . This cannot be wholly true for the couple were married on 28 th February 1897, by licence, in St Dominic’s Priory (RC) Church, Hampstead and the ceremony was witnessed by

James & Ann Faulkner, the groom’s brother and sister and Alice Gorton, possibly a friend of the bride. The fact that none of Caroline’s family were official witnesses points to the source of the trouble, her parents. Being Methodists, for their daughter to marry a Roman Catholic would, in those times, have been something of a shock. But the truth may lie even deeper than that, as shown by the opposition to her brother James marriage nine years earlier.

Thomas Faulkner, at the time of his marriage gave his address as 7 Cotswold Place,

Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire. He was employed as a clerk by the Midland Railway, doubless starting his carreer in St Pancras but at the age of 21 years was moving up the promotional ladder and had been transferred to Tewkesbury. Caroline did at least give her address as 4 Savernake Road, Hampstead.

She moved with her husband as his job on the Midland Railway required. Their first home in

Tewkesbury was where their first child Thomas was born in 1898. A full account of their married life has been included in our “Faulkner” book and is not repeated here.

Caroline was widowed at the relatively young age of 48 years when her husband, after a longish illness died in Bristol in 1922. He left his entire estate to his widow. It amounted to

£1,048 in total, quite a reasonable sum at that time. Now Caroline was left with a problem.

Her oldest son Thomas was married & so independent. Her second son William was engaged and about to marry. Her third son Edward was just 20 years of age and without a job in times of high unemployment. Her younger children were Bernard aged 15 years, Ella aged 10 years and little Carrie aged just 8 years.

Caroline needed an income and decided to open a boarding house in Teignmouth, South

Devon. What persuaded her to choose Teignmouth we do not know but the property she selected 5 was either No. 22, 23, 24 or 25 Northumberland Place. The property was still there in 2004. She took the four youngest children with her but left Thomas (married) & William

(about to marry) in Bristol. A search of some of the local Teignmouth directories for 1923,

1926, 1930 & 1931 was unproductive.

The Boarding House was decidedly not a success. Edward was very unsettled and returned to live in Bristol in lodgings with friends. He eventually gained employment with the Bristol

Greyhound bus company and later became Transport Manager with the Bristol Aeroplane

Company (Aircraft division) at Filton. He never married and died in 1974.

According to her daughters Caroline had no real business sense and was hopeless with money. At some time she sold up and moved to 82 East Street in Newton Abbot. This was a very large house. One can speculate that the opportunity to move came in 1933 with the death of her sister Bertha. This left Emily alone in the property in Savernake Road.

However as has been mentioned before Emily was not one of the brightest of people although very focused when it came to money. Most likely arrangements were made whereby Emily funded at least in part the purchase of 82 East Street which enabled her to move in with her remaining sister Caroline. She was certainly there in 1935 when her daughter Ella married

Reg. French.

She died there on 26 th May 1943 aged 68y. The causes were “Arteriosclerosis, gastric influenza and heart muscle failure. Her son Bernard reported the death.

5

Memory of Rosemary Davy, granddaughter of Caroline


1 direct ancestors - Faulkner Family History

PRINCE HENRY

PRINCE PAUL (713)

PRINCE JOHN (739)

PRINCE JOHN (772)

PRINCE JAMES (815)

PRINCE FREDERICK (838)

PRINCE CAROLINE (874)

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1 direct ancestors - Faulkner Family History

1 DIRECT ANCESTORS